An Overview of Herbal Medicines for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung scarring condition with the histological characteristic of typical interstitial pneumonia. Injury to alveolar epithelial cells is a critical precursor in the pathogenesis of this disease. The prevalence of IPF is growing exponent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Processes 2022-06, Vol.10 (6), p.1131
Main Authors: Murthy, Pavitra, Shaibie, Nur Adania, Lim, Chooi Ling, Ling, Anna Pick Kiong, Chye, Soi Moi, Koh, Rhun Yian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alveoli
Apoptosis
Chinese medicine
Clinical trials
Connective tissue
Diarrhea
Epithelial cells
Epithelium
Fibroblasts
Fibrosis
Health services
Hepatitis
Herbal medicine
Inflammation
Lung diseases
Medical prognosis
Medical treatment
Morbidity
Naturopathy
Nausea
Pathogenesis
Patients
Pneumonia
Pulmonary fibrosis
Signs and symptoms
Smooth muscle
Telomerase
Therapeutic targets
Traditional Chinese medicine
Viral infections
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Summary:Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung scarring condition with the histological characteristic of typical interstitial pneumonia. Injury to alveolar epithelial cells is a critical precursor in the pathogenesis of this disease. The prevalence of IPF is growing exponentially, with substantial morbidity and mortality rates increasing the burden on economic healthcare costs. A multidisciplinary approach for diagnosis is used to rule out the alternative causes of interstitial lung disease. Pirfenidone and nintedanib, two innovative antifibrotic medicines introduced in recent years, have provided therapeutic benefits to many IPF patients, and several IPF medications are in the early phases of clinical trials. However, available medications can cause unpleasant symptoms such as nausea and diarrhoea. More efforts have been made to uncover alternative treatments towards a more personalised patient-centred care and hence improve the outcomes in the IPF patients. Through a multi-level and multi-target treatment approach, herbal medicines, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), have been identified as revolutionary medical treatment for IPF. Due to their natural properties, herbal medicines have shown to possess low adverse effects, stable therapeutic impact, and no obvious drug dependencies. Herbal medicines have also shown anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects, which make them a promising therapeutic target for IPF. A growing number of formulas, herbal components, and various forms of Chinese herbal medicine extracts are available for IPF patients in China. This review summarises the role of herbal medicines in the prevention and treatment of IPF.
ISSN:2227-9717
2227-9717
DOI:10.3390/pr10061131